"I don't suppose someone wants to go first?"
Under the sharp analytical eye of Professor Nile, everyone seemed to freeze up. He sighed as everyone looked away, refusing to make any sort of contact for fear of being called out. This situation felt vaguely familiar.
His eye caught the sight of red hair, the girl who was arguing with her mother stood to one side. Her face stiff with both fear and determination. Nile smiled ever so slightly, happy to see she hadn't given up on someone else's whim.
"You, come here."
She shakily step forward, today seemed to be delivering her one stressful moment after another.
"You'll start us off, state your name and produce a spell. The rest of you give her some space."
Isabelle began to panic as the other test takers opened up a wide area for her. The eyes of Nile, Clara and everyone else dug into her skin as sharp as thin iron needles. She only just won her first ever argument against her mother, she barely had any time to think of which spell she was going to present.
Pushing down the chaotic emotions Isabelle took a deep breath. If there was anything she learned from her mother it was how to perform with the weighted stare she was capable of giving pinned to her back.
"My name is Isabelle Victoria Ashton."
Taking another breath to stable her mind, Isabelle gathered the filtered mana stored throughout her body. The spell she planned to use was a useless one but it was pretty nonetheless, she only hoped it was enough to gain her entry to Yelrine. If she were to fail, she would have to face the wrath of her mother still alight with anger due to her blatant disobedience.
Her eyes closed in concentration as she began to mumble the spell beneath her breath. Not far from her feet a fresh green sprout pushed through the stone flooring with enough force to leave cracks and rubble around its base as it quickly stretched skyward. The sprout developed into vines and multiplied until there were many writhing living tentacles of healthy leaves reaching almost ten feet in the air.
It was then they stopped growing and started to windup around themselves, braiding an intricate structure. A woman with her head bowed became visible, her arms in front of her held together and empty as a dress covered her body before disappearing back into the ground. When the vines finally settled, a large delicate flower with pale yellow translucent petals bloomed in the space of her hands. The woman created from leaves and vines seemed to hold the flower as if it were the most precious thing she owned.
Isabelle's forehead was coated in sweat when she finally stopped. It was an intricate and useless spell she learned from her grandmother before she died though she had never attempted it on a scale this large. The sheer size of the plant statue had almost drained her of all the mana she had. She was dizzy but remained tall as she turned to Nile for the results.
Please. Please. Please.
Nile remained resolute as he spoke, his face giving nothing away when he gave his assessment.
"Pass, be here for the Welcome Ceremony in two weeks time Isabelle."
Though Nile enjoyed his job he didn't fully agree with the ideal of only allowing entry to geniuses and once in a lifetime mages. A diamond was not found glistening and polished in the dirt, all valuable gems started out as rocks. The school had previously let go of many who would flourish with a bit of help simply for the fact that they couldn't keep with the monstrous levels of others. Nile refused to make the same mistake.
He passed Isabelle because he saw great potential in her magic, that was all. He cared not for her family situation.
In a start, before she gave herself the chance to process the many emotions running through her brain Isabelle turned to her mother. Elena's face was slack with surprise as all her anger was forgotten for a moment. Her mother used to show her that spell to keep her from crying when she was a child.
Cautiously walking up to her, Isabelle approached as if she was drawing nearer to a wounded lion.
"Mother-"
"We'll discuss everything at home. Come."
Though Isabelle wanted to stay and see the other people attempt the exam she relented. She had already pushed her mother further than she ever thought possible. If she tried to push any more she was sure Elena would snap like an old rubber band stretched too far.
Isabelle turned to take in the place she would most definitely come back to. For a second green eyes clashed with purple ones that felt far too familiar but in a moment their gaze broke and the purple haired boy turned around.
Isabelle shook her head to dispel her wayward train of thought.
There was no way that was him. No way.
With the first attempt ending in a pass, many others hopes had risen. One person in particular was feeling confident so he stepped to the front.
"Stephan Glenford."
The man in his mid-twenties stood proudly before Nile. With windswept blond hair and warm brown eyes he was the physical embodiment of boyish charm. Though he was dressed in commoner's clothes he stood like a noble, as if it was his right to be there.
Nile eyed him critically, confidence could only take him so far. He settled back in his chair to see what the young man had in store.
At the professor's silent acknowledgment Stephan readied himself.
The noble girl before him was nothing compared to what he had planned. He traveled from far away where he was the best fire specialized mage in his town. Studying the books he couldn't afford in the stores had gotten him past the written exam. This was the next step.
He planned to do something similar to the professor. The large tsunami wave stopping mere inches from his face left a big impact on Stephan. It was magic that was both powerful yet somehow refined and elegant.
Despite having never tried to perform magic on such a large level without reciting a spell to control it, there was no time like the present.
Stephan didn't think it was stupid to try something so difficult for the first time here. In fact this test was the perfect place to improve himself, in his understanding that was what Yelrine was all about. Pushing your limit and attempting the impossible.
Instead of being scared, Stephan was excited.
Gathering all the filtered mana residing in his body, Stephan pushed it out, instantly his bright orange and red flame magic licked at his fingers. The feeling was warm and familiar, encouraging him to go further. So he did.
Unlike Nile's impressive wave of water Stephan aimed to make a circular wall around himself of the same magnitude.
Go big or go home.
With his head raised he pushed the flames to lick at the beams holding up the roof, the dancing plumes around him seemed to celebrate as well. A smug sense of elation began to simmer in the pit of his stomach.
He, a commoner had managed to build a defense wall of flame without so much as a word muttered under his breath. Feeling accomplished he reached out to the roaring wall to disperse his magic, only for the flames to scorch the tips of his fingers.
Stephan pulled back with a hiss, there was something wrong. This was his spell, his magic, it should respond to him. He had never been afraid of his own fire, but standing in the middle of this heated tornado, he began to sweat. It was hard to breath, his clothes were beginning to burn and blacken.
Stephan was being devoured by his own spell.
One of the most important things to remember when casting a spell is control. Releasing filtered mana as magic is not unlike lighting a match in a gasoline soaked room.
The only thing keeping the magic a caster has made from being consumed by the raw unfiltered mana in the air is pure concentration and control. That being said, the bigger the spell, the more concentration it needed.
A disaster had unfolded and before anyone else seemed to pick up on what went wrong; Azra pushed his way to the front, watching as the chaotic spell consumed raw mana as if it were dry timber.
There was no moment to think, to worry about what would happen if he failed, if his identity was exposed. None of that mattered now.
All he could think about was dispelling the fire before the man trapped within was burned alive.
Eyes glowing a bright purple, Azra ran straight towards the circle of fire.